Binary Codes
by daft0as0you0may0think
Summary: AU.yaoi. Katsuya Jounouchi is a kid who falls back to his computer for comfort. When he takes on the challenge of hacking into Kaiba Corp. he is faced with an outcome he never expected.
1. Chapter 1

Binary Codes

Disclaimer/authors note: Right. I do not own any characters from yu-gi-oh. I'm just here trying to do who knows what. Most likely ease the disease more commonly known as boredom. This is an AU fic, so if the characters seem different, that's why.

Katsuya Jounouchi sat behind the keyboard, typing commands in a hurried but professional fashion. He had been dared by one of his friends to hack into one of the most technologically advanced buildings to date. Kaiba Corp. was currently in possession of special defense system, purely one of a kind created by the CEO himself. When he got into the files he was supposed to leave an interesting message and/or virus for Kaiba himself. Jou grinned at the thought.

He watched as another password was required, and stretched a bit before pulling his attention back to the screen. He stared impassively and dragged up as many ideas as he could. He began to type a series of numbers and letters and magically, he passed through another barrier.

The hum and whirr of the electronic equipment always provided comfort to his mind. It was a quiet purr compared to his fathers drunken yelling and shouting and the keys offered more release than he had ever felt. His laptop was a group gift he received from his friends when he turned 18. Some of them, Bakura mostly, taught him the wonders of hacking. It was a quick and easy way to make money and he loved it.

Speaking of making money, wouldn't it be great to rob moneybags himself? He could imagine the article in the newspaper already. It would mention the sheer brilliance of the one who was able to beat down the amazing prodigy Seto Kaiba. It would mention what Kaiba would have to do now that he wasn't a powerful public icon. Then there would be a lovely picture of the man wracked in despair as he held his stuck up brother close to himself.

The mental image made Jou grin. The Kaiba's were so famous. They had life made for them. It was about time someone knocked them back into the real world. He had seen the way the older brother smirked cockily at everyone else on the television. It was almost as if he were that damn cat from Alice in Wonderland. He had seen pictures of the little Kaiba as well. The press had found them one day at the zoo and the little boy put on a good show of being innocently happy rather than snide or cruel, unlike the elder who just glared and dragged Mokuba away.

The pleasant purr of his laptop was interrupted harshly as it beeped annoyingly before the screen went black. It hadn't shut down but there was no way he could get rid of the screen. He growled in frustration until slowly a cursor appeared. He watched as it blinked once…twice…and then moved forward leaving behind a big, bold, white, capitalized letter "I".

Jou blinked in awe as the letters which had started off appearing slowly one by one quickly gained pace until the were flying across the screen. An "S" had followed the "I" and then a pleasant black space followed by the letter "T" and it continued from there. His peculiar hazel-gold eyes widened and then narrowed dangerously as the message flashed across the screen. It read:

"Is that the best you can do?"

"Damnit!" Jou growled pulling off his glasses and slamming them angrily on the desk. Then, to make his mood worse, his computer shut down. "God I hate you Kaiba!" he hissed through clenched teeth. Only one phrase could describe this situation in Katsuya's mind. "This sucks!" He sighed and slumped down on his bed in defeat. A small yawn tried to escape, but he quickly smothered it with more caffeine. He had to wait until his dad came home or else he could sleep through one of the old man's request's and wake up do to unpleasant circumstances. What could he do now?

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Kaiba stared at his laptop in wonder. Someone had nearly hacked into his company. Sure he had left a cocky message, but someone had almost reached into _his_ company! An exhausted sigh passed his lips and he tilted his head back to stare at the ceiling. Now he had to stay even later to improve his systems.

"This sucks." He muttered. Not only did he have to run his company and keep up with the new creations to ensure his business' success, but he also had to update his defense systems. Wonderful. He rubbed his eyes and took a sip of coffee to wake up. 2:52 a.m. Why couldn't he just have others fix up the system for him? He stared at the brown muck in his mug. Why didn't he hire people? Then he shook his head. Because then there was an opportunity for information would leak out to the public and hackers like the one he just thwarted would be falling over each other to get at his money and ideas.

However, maybe he could just find that one hacker…Find that one and have that person help out. It would be better to have more than one mind at work here. Also, he could afford to have just one expert hacker, than 50 inexperienced ones trying to grasp the situation.

He new he could trace the laptop and write a message, but should he? It would be a welcome relief to have somebody to shorten his hours, but just what kind of person would try to hack into his company? It must be somebody who is pretty confident in his or her ability to hack. Would that confidence make them stuck up? Would they gloat over the fact that he would ask them for help? He ground his teeth together. No way! There was no way he was going to get help on this.

His cell phone rang and he groaned as he looked at the name of the caller. "Why are you still awake?"

He could almost hear the frown. "I thought you said you were going to be home no later than midnight."

Kaiba looked at his watch. 3:32 a.m.

"I'm sorry Mokuba, I'm on my way home right now. So go get some sleep and I'll take you to the game shop you like so much tomorrow. Alright?"

Mokuba grinned on the other end of the line. "K Seto! See you tomorrow! Goodnight!"

Kaiba chuckled and said goodnight to his brother before hanging up. This settled it. He would have to take a chance and find this hacker. His brother needed him, and he'd be damned if he ignored his little brother. He called his limo and exited the building. The cool breeze felt nice on his skin and the fresh air woke him up a bit more. As he entered the black vehicle one thought played through his mind: "Find the hacker More time with Mokuba."

He closed the limo door behind him and relaxed as he was driven home.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer/Authors note: I don't own anything yu-gi-oh related…so there. Anyways I really am a lazy git with absolutely nothing to do but try to motivate myself to write this story. Thanks to all of you who reviewed, it means a lot. I have no clue where I'm planning on going with this story so I might end up just spacing from this one and writing marik/malik's story from this universe. Or Bakura and Ryou's or any other pairing that will most likely exist in the future. Who knows, I may drift onto another fandom. Blah, blah blah. Anyways, here's the next chapter to binary codes.

Bakura sat behind the desk in his wheelie chair of doom as he so affectionately dubbed it. He was a DJ who mostly ran a talk show but it received very high ratings due to his devilish wit and sarcastic tongue. He did play songs every now and then, but he much preferred the idea of brainwashing the mass public with what was dubbed by one fan of his show "A voice that made sex seem trivial." If that wasn't a complement, he didn't know what was.

However, today was going to be different. When he arrived at work and sat in his wheelie chair, he noticed a note from his boss. A note that clearly stated the station was going to have a guest. A note that clearly stated that he was going to have to work with this guest. A note that also said if he were rude to this guest in any way, form, or fashion, he would promptly be fired. This guest was important, highly influential, and could boost their ratings even more. Oh yes, he had to tolerate the richest man in Japan, Seto Kaiba himself.

He glared before another caller was brought to his line to chat with him over the radio.

"Hello? Bakura?"

The voice was distinctly feminine.

"What idiot is gracing me with their presence today and why?" He growled into his mike.

"My name is Anzu and I was just wondering if you had a girlfriend, because I can think of a couple of people who would so like to be with you."

Bakura's eye twitched and he began to wonder who was screening the calls today. Whoever it was had better make sure that their shift was over before his was. Bakura wasn't beyond a little divine retribution. Especially when it was delivered by such a fine divinity as him.

"No I do not have a girlfriend. I am enjoying the bachelor life just fine thank you."

"Why do you have to be so cruel? We could always talk about this on a more…private line if you know what I mean."

Bakura gagged as the voice tried to be seductive. Tried being the key word there.

"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. I can't believe that you are making a fool out of yourself on public radio? If you hang up now, I promise I won't hunt you down and kill you."

He disconnected her line in frustration just as another call came through.

"Hey, who is this?" Bakura asked boredly as he shifted idly in his chair.

It was quiet for a long moment and he could hear sobbing at the other end of the line.

"Sorry," a soft British accented voice said. "My name is Ryou."

"Ryou huh?" Bakura purred into his mic. "And just where are you at Ryou?"

There was another pause in which Ryou could be heard coughing slightly in what could either be a quiet laugh, hesitation, or embarrassment.

"At m-my friend Anzu's house." Came the soft reply.

"I'm sorry." Bakura answered. "What is the reason for this delightful conversation? You wouldn't happen to be one of those charming friends Anzu mentioned, would you? One of the one's who would _so _love to hook up with me?"

Bakura was so close to the mic that his lips were caressing the bloody thing as he spoke in a husky whisper. He was kind of hoping this soft-spoken male was one of the so-called friends.

"N-n-no!" Ryou stuttered. "I was just wondering if y-you would…" He heard a swallow. "I just wanted to know if you would take my song request?"

Bakura grinned and leaned back in his chair.

"Alright, what's your poison?"

"P-pardon?"

Bakura rolled his eyes in a bit of annoyance. If this was what today was going to be like, he was desperately beginning to hope Kaiba had a gun.

"What can I play for you sweet-thing?" He asked flirtatiously.

"O-oh right! I'm sorry. Would you please play In Cold Blood by Soul Room?"

"Anything for you," came his reply.

"Thank you very much Bakura." Came the soft reply.

"No problem. Thanks for calling Ryou."

As soon as the song started to play there was a knock on the door and Kaiba walked in. He stared at the brown haired CEO with a small raise of an eyebrow, and then gave a long-suffering sigh.

"Come on in Mr. Kaiba." He said boredly.

Kaiba walked with the grace of a feline as he sat himself in a large and comfy leather wheelie chair next to Bakura. He set his brief case down and glared at the close scrutiny that the near albino was gracing him with.

"Sorry. I've never seen a genuine bastard before." Bakura said with a smirk.

Kaiba said nothing and Bakura grinned as the song ending came to his attention.

"Now you get to woo your crowd with pretty words." He said to Kaiba before running a quick check over his equipment.

"That was In Cold Blood by Soul Room. Now, you may have heard at various times throughout the week that we were going to have a special guest. It wasn't mentioned on my show because, quite frankly, I had no clue about it. Sitting next to me right now, even as I speak, is the notorious Mr. Moneybags himself Seto Kaiba! And he has a special message just for all you no-good low life's."

Kaiba rolled his eyes and began his lengthy message, which Bakura promptly made sure he wasn't listening to. That is until he heard those words. Those words that he had heard over and over again from his idiot friend Jou.

"Is that the best you can do?"

And with a nod Kaiba's message was complete. He stared at Bakura's bemused expression and his mind quickly danced over the possibility of Bakura's hacking ability.

"That was Seto Kaiba with a message to the people." He said before turning it to commercials.

Kaiba grabbed Bakura's shoulders and heaved him up only to slam him into the wall.

"You're the hacker!"

Bakura laughed harder than he had in a while at the wild accusation. He would have made it into Kaiba Corps. System if it had been him doing the hacking.

"No." The DJ said suddenly serious.

Kaiba hesitated a moment and studied Bakura carefully. Very carefully. Bakura just tilted his head and winked seductively causing Kaiba to shove him against the wall again.

"But you know who is the hacker." Kaiba accused.

A sly smirk appeared on Bakura's face.

"I know who the hacker is." He purred.

Kaiba smirked. Once again, things seemed to be going his way.

Jou was lead down the street by an excited Yugi. Apparently after being sulky for a couple of days he was now required to do something to take his mind off of Kaiba. Yugi and Honda had been trying to cheer him up but everywhere in the media the man made of money could be found. It was oddly reminiscent of "Where's Waldo?"

"It's so cool! I think you'll like this a lot Jou! I did it yesterday, but they said they would still be there today!" Yugi said delightedly as he lead Honda and Jou to a stand in an alley.

"Hmmm….where is he?" Yugi wondered aloud.

"Guess we should wait." Said Honda.

"Hell no! I don't want to wait here guys." Snapped Jou.

In his defense, it was hot a hot day. However, when Yugi gave him the puppy eye's he felt himself lose the battle and sighed as they sat down next to the stand. What were they doing here anyway? Hopefully this was a lemonade stand.

It was fifteen minutes later that two exotic young men made their way back to the stand. Both were similar in appearance with tan skin, and blond hair. The shorter one carried two drinks while the taller and much more intimidating was carrying three.

"Sorry you guys were waiting. Marik and I were at lunch. I felt a little bad though, so I brought you some drinks. I'll just put this on your tab Yugi." The shorter one said with a nod.

"Oh yes, I'm Malik by the way." The shorter one said with a grin. "And I am here to tell you a bit about your future with the assistance of my partner, Marik."

Marik handed out the drinks then ran a hand through his spiky hair. Then he went behind the stand and sat down in one of the chairs. He glared at Jou who had been glaring at him.

"Today I am working with Jou, correct Yugi?" When the smaller teen nodded Malik grinned.

"Perfect. Come here Jou."

Jou was scowling. Fortunetellers were a load of crap. Anyone could tell you that. The only thing that made them mystical was their clothing and tone of voice. This Malik couldn't even get that right in his purple tank top covered with thin chains and loud voice.

"Come here puppy! Come here Jou!" Malik said while patting his hands on his thighs like you would for a dog.

Jou's jaw dropped and before he new it he was in the fortunetellers face growling and uttering obscenities.

"Great!" Malik said as he grabbed Jou's hand.

Jou's hand was promptly turned over for palm examination. It got very quiet as Malik's brow furrowed and he leaned towards Marik to whisper something in the taller man's ear. Marik leaned over and stared at the hand a moment. Then the silence was broken.

"Well, first I have to convince you that I am in fact very good at what I do. Notice, I bought you your favorite drink. You owe me $1.25. Your name is Katsuya Jounouchi, however you will acquire several pet names from your soon to be employer. You suffer greatly in your house life. Your sister is coming to visit in a couple of weeks. You used to pick on Yugi and you've been friends with Honda for many years."

Jou's jaw dropped. He shook his head in the negative when asked if he needed a bigger list of evidence.

"Great, we've already made progress. However, I've already told you a couple of things from your not-so-distant future. Marik would you be so kind to turn on the radio?" Marik did as he was told and Kaiba's voice was soon flowing smoothly from the speakers. When the message ended, Malik smirked.

"Let me guess…that's going to be my new employer?" Jou asked slowly.

Malik nodded with a sadistic grin.

"Ha! Yeah right! You don't make my future! You know nothing about me!"

Marik grinned maliciously.

"Not only does Malik know what he's talking about, but you will receive a phone call tonight at 9:22 and it will be the cause of much pain for the better part of an hour. Until _he_ passes out and soon after you will find yourself begging to your master for mercy. Who knows, maybe he will be merciful after all."

Malik frowned at the startled look on Jou's face. "Now look what you've done Marik." He sighed.

"Just a word of advice Jou. Keep your friend's close, but keep your enemies closer."

Jou frowned. "How close?"

Malik smirked. "So close that you share the same bed, of course."

With that, Katsuya stormed off leaving Yugi to pay and Honda to run after him and try to calm him down. When they turned the corner, Marik grinned and shoved Malik against the alley wall causing the smaller boy to gasp in pain.

"I really hate you Malik." He said simply.

"I know."

"Just so we're clear…I really do hate you." Marik said and then he kissed the shorter teen.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters used for this story. They belong to somebody that is NOT ME.  
Now that we have that behind us I'll move on. I didn't really expect this story to get any reviews when I started writing it. In fact, I've just read over it and began to notice all the errors I seem to be creating, however, people do seem to like this story and it's for all you that have ever reviewed or read this story that I am writing for on this day. Congratulations, you guys rock!

Jou stared in misery at the tall building before him. It had been two weeks since the night of the phone call. Two weeks since he had been asked by Seto's secretary to stop by the office for an interview. Apparently, it also took him two weeks to decide that this job would definitely pay well enough to get an apartment far away from his "loving" father.

It wasn't until an hour ago that he realized he had to wear something nicer than a shirt that proclaimed him as an escaped sociopath with a rather threatening warning and a pair of baggy pants. Needless to say, he freaked. Well, he freaked, and then called Yugi. His short friend was more than eager to help. It was in record time that he found himself rescuing the door from his friend's knocking, or in Jou's mind, his excitedly harsh abuse.

Yugi had raided the blonde's closet until he pulled out a black button down shirt, a pair of khakis that just barely fit, and a pair of shoes that definitely weren't sneakers. While he had been dressing himself, Yugi also managed to find a tie. Of course, the tie was incredibly childish with all the little puppies that ran across it, but there was no time for debate as he was rushed out the door with a quick "good luck!" from his friend.

So, here he was almost five minutes late and still standing outside of the intimidating building. The sunlight glared harshly of the many windows that loomed over him, almost as if to ward him back. Jou took a deep breath. "Here goes nothing."

It took him about ten minutes to find the floor that housed not only the secretary's office, but Kaiba's as well. She had long, blonde hair and an incredibly skimpy outfit on. It was the kind of outfit that made guys like him drool, and true to his nature; he could feel himself salivate as he looked at her.

"Uhhh…er…H-hi!" He visibly flinched at how retarded he had to have sound. Especially since the women now stared at him with a raised eyebrow and slightly mocking smirk.

"What can I do for you blondie?"

Jou felt his eye twitch. All right, so maybe she wasn't that attractive.

"Blondie?! I'll have you know that I'm here at yer request. You and yer boss that is. I'm a very, very smart person and definitely don' have to dress like a slut to get yer boss' attention!"

"But it does help." Came a smooth voice from across the room. Jou froze; he would recognize that voice anywhere.

"You're Seto Kaiba." He said, unable to keep a bit of awe out of his voice.

The CEO was tall, and, much to Jou's chagrin, more handsome than the photographs portrayed. His eye's were a cold blue and seemed to be observing the blonde as closely as the blonde was observing him.

"You're the hacker…and you have little dogs running all over your tie." Kaiba sneered.

"It's the only one I had!" He shouted defensively, feeling more embarrassed then angry. It was a pretty stupid tie.

"Try not to get too excited, if you wet the carpet I'll have to fire you before you're even hired."

Jou's jaw dropped. That BASTARD! Judging by the sharp glare he was receiving, he had just said that out loud.

"It seems apparent that you flunked obedience school. If I do decide to hire you, than it would seem I'd have to keep you on a short leash."

Amber eyes narrowed dangerously. "Enough with the dog jokes already!!!"

Seto's eyebrow raised and he sneered again. "Just get into my office…puppy." He muttered low enough so that Jou could here him as he walked passed the CEO and into the room.

The office was huge with wide windows that gave a wonderful view of the city from above. Jou thought he could see his apartment building from here. His eyes then strayed to the expensive looking desk near the large windows. The wood had a red tint to it that he found gave the work some class. A black leather couch was on the on the other side of the vast room.

"Good. Now sit." Jou answered that remark with an inappropriate hand gesture. Then he resigned himself to sitting in what was possibly the least comfortable piece of furniture his butt had ever made contact with.

"Let's begin with what I will expect from you, should you be hired." Seto continued with a smirk. "You will be at your post by no later than seven in the morning and leave by eight at night. You will be secluded from the others for obvious reasons and your office will be close to mine. It would be appreciated if you would call in if you get sick, otherwise I'll fire you under the assumption that you have decided responsibility is beneath you. Saturdays and Sundays you have off to chase your tail or pee on hydrants. Just don't get arrested because you'll find yourself quickly unemployed. If I think about anything else, trust me, you'll be the first to know. Anything you find particularly disagreeable?"

Jou scowled at the man sitting across from him. "Do I have to dress up every day?"

Seto sneered at him once again, "Somehow, I doubt you own anything dressier then the clothes you are currently wearing. I don't care what you wear, it's not like I planned on showing you off to anyone anyway. Anymore questions?" He asked impatiently.

"If I think of anything else, you'll be the first to know." Jou replied snarkily.

"Don't strain yourself." Kaiba replied simply before pulling out some papers. "Now we will negotiate your pay. I'm willing to give you ten bucks an hour."

That caused Jou's eyes to widen. Just in a day he'd be making $130! This was his chance to be able to buy a decent apartment far away from his father!!! He forced himself to calm down a bit. "I suppose that seems fair." He managed to reply casually.

Kaiba nodded his head. "Then sign here." He indicated a blank line at the bottom of a contract.

He took the paper and carefully read everything on it, much to the CEO's surprise, and when he found no loopholes, he scrawled his name sloppily on the line.

"You start work next week." Seto said.


End file.
